The present invention relates to an alveolar connector, comprising a male connector element and a female connector element, having parts provided with aligned sockets suitable for receiving at least one connection device for fiber optics formed of a male contact and a female contact working together.
Such connectors, generally of the multicontact type, are used to connect cables or tracks of a printed circuit board, a so-called daughter board, to the tracks of another printed circuit board, the so-called mother board.
In this application, an element of the alveolar multicontact connector of the male type is installed on the daughter board, and a corresponding female element is installed on the mother board.
Such connectors for printed circuit boards comprise sockets meant to hold different types of contacts, particularly sockets meant to receive coaxial contacts.
An example of such connectors is provided by the series of connectors corresponding to the standard DIN 41612.
Taking into account the development of connections for fiber optics, it has, of course, been envisaged to install devices for connecting fiber optics in this type of connector, by putting a male optic contact of a fiber optic connection device in place in a socket of one of the connector elements, and the female optic contact in a socket of the opposite connector element.
Now, optic contacts, particularly contacts for monomode fiber optics, must have very good axial and angular guidance if there is to be only slight weakening of the connection.
This guidance is generally obtained by the presence of radial play between the opposite surfaces of the male optic contact and the female optic contact when the connection is made.
This guidance is satisfactory if one is directly assembling a male contact and a female contact installed, respectively, at the end of optic cables.
However, this guidance is no longer satisfactory if the male and female optic contacts have first each been installed in a socket of an alveolar multicontact connector element for printed circuit boards, of the type mentioned above.
In fact, the sockets of these connector elements, as well as their position in the insulating parts of the connector elements, have tolerances incompatible with the guidance demanded for optic contacts. These tolerances, in fact, were defined for coaxial connectors, which require a much lower precision of guidance than fiber optics. The tolerances for coaxial contacts, as defined, in particular, in the standard DIN 41612, are such that the sockets of the male and female connector elements (outlet and plug of the connectors for printed circuit boards) are not sufficiently well aligned, due to eccentric movements, for well guided coupling of optic contacts placed in the sockets of these connector elements.